Love Struck
by CalenBee
Summary: Merry and Pippin share a strong friendship, but the arrival of a young girl threatens to cleave it. Oneshot.


A/N: I'm sleep derprived and wrote this with in the middle of my writers block! Enjoy, pls review and don't steal :D

Love Struck 

As the sun set, Merry and Pippin sat on the side of the small hill, smoking pipes. When night fell, the two hobbits got up and headed to Pippin's house to get a drink or two. Or three. Or maybe four. They always acted like the fools they were. They were very popular around the Shire for their up-beat attitude.

The two were cousins and close friends. Occasionally, they visited Rosie and Sam. After the One Ring was destroyed and Merry and Pippin became knights, Frodo had left Bag End in the hands of Samwise Gamgee. Occasionaly, Merry and Pippin visited Sam, Rosie, and their children and stayed for supper. Pippin loved Rosie's cooking.

"What're we doing tomorrow?" Merry asked.

"I don't know. We have all the time in the world!" Pippin said happily. Merry and Pippin got to the house. After a couple of drinks(Maybe more than a couple), Merry ended up staying the night.

The next morning, Merry was heading home when he saw a young hobbit girl, close to his age, walking down the road in front of him when she turned around and spotted him looking at her. Their eyes met, and she waited for him to catch up.

"Hi, I'm Warden." she said, shaking his hand. She struggled to carry a large book in her other hand. It slipped from her arms, and fell to the ground. As Warden lowered to pick it up, Merry reached for it and picked it up.

"Here you go," He said. "I'm Merry."

"Thank you, Merry." Warden said as she took the book from his hands. Merry could not get his eyes off the necklace she was wearing. It was a small crystal, filled with a blue liquid.

"Your necklace is beautiful," Merry complimented. "Where did you get it?"

Warden hesitated, then answered, "I-it was my mother's," she stammered. She clutched it in her hands, then turned and walked away. "It was nice to meet you, Merry! See you later!" she called back to him. Left in the middle of the road, Merry watched Warden run towards her home.

She lived close to him, he thought. Maybe he would visit her sometime. He wondered what that book was. And that necklace. It was so strange. What was that liquid inside? So many questions that needed answering. Warden was very mysterious. Merry had never seen her in the Shire before. He decided he would visit her, and then walked home. But what he didn't know was that she was much more mysterious than he thought. Deep inside her, she carried a secret that would change Merry's life forever.

****** ******

"Merry! What did you do last night! You've been sleeping all afternoon!" Pippin's hands pounded on the front door as he tried to wake Merry up. He heard slow footsteps, then silence. "Come in, Pippin." Merry's muffled voice came from inside the house. Pippin turned the knob and opened the door. Inside, Merry was sitting at the kitchen table, looking at Pippin with sleepy eyes. He gestured for Pippin to sit down. Pippin did so, and looked Merry in the eyes. "Why have you been sleeping so long? You've never slept this late before." He said. He looked worried.

"I don't know. I've been so tired. Ever since I met this girl,--"

"A girl? What girl? What are you doing with a girl?" Pippin interrupted. He was grabbing on to Merry's shoulders.

"Her name is Warden," Merry said sleepily. "She's this girl I met yesterday when I was walking home. She's so beautiful. I saw this necklace around her neck, she said it was her mother's. She walked off with this large book. When I got home, I couldn't stop thinking about her. Then I fell asleep."

"Where does she live?" Pippin said, calming down.

"Uh, I think she lives down the road. I wanted to go over today and say hi, you can come if you want." Merry said, rubbing his eyes.

"I think I might have to. You might fall asleep at the doorstep if you don't have someone to hold you up." Pippin stood up. "See you later. Get some sleep. I'll come wake you up later." Pippin walked out the door. Merry went back to bed. He fell asleep quickly, but didn't sleep long. Someone was knocking on the door. "Who's there?" Merry said, pulling on a shirt. "It's me." the voice came from the other side of the door. Warden. Merry suddenly became wide-awake.

He answered the door. Just like he thought, Warden was standing in the doorway. "Hello again. Did I wake you up?" She said, the necklace still hanging around her neck. The blue liquid seemed to be glowing.

"Yeah, I'm glad you did. I've been so tired lately." Merry said. Warden walked into the house. "Would you like something to eat?" Merry said. He walked into the kitchen and put some soup on.

"Mmm, mushroom is my favourite." Warden said, smelling the air. When it was done, Merry and Warden sat down at the table and ate. Warden seemed to be hungry, but Merry just sat there, staring at Warden. "So, my birthday is coming up, and I'm having a party. I was wondering if you wanted to come. I invited the whole village to come." Warden said, putting her spoon into the almost empty bowl. Merry nodded his head, looking excited. Warden smiled. "I knew you would," she said. Merry noticed that she was fiddling with the necklace in her fingers. She got up, and walked to the door.

Merry followed her. She pulled a small piece of paper out of her pocket, and handed it to Merry. "This is the invitation. Just so you know what time it is, you know." Warden smiled again, and walked out the door. Merry watched her walk away. Wow, he thought. I am the luckiest hobbit in the Shire. He looked at the invitation. The party was tomorrow. He cleaned up the kitchen, put the invitation on the table, and went back to sleep.

****** ******

The next morning, Merry woke up refreshed and wide awake. Today was the day of the party. He bathed, got dressed and combed his hair. He wanted to look his best. He walked over to the book store. He thought that big book ment she liked reading, so he got "There and Back Again, a hobbit's tale by Bilbo Baggins". It was the most popular book around the Shire since Bilbo left. While walking home with the gift, Merry passed Pippin.

"You seem to have had plenty of sleep." Pippin said with a grin.

"I sure did. Are you going to the party tonight?"

"Oh, you mean Warden's birthday party? Yeah, are you?"

"This is her present. She's so beautiful, don't you think?" Merry said.

"Merry, I think I need to show you something." Pippin grabbed Merry's arm and took him to Pippin's house. He pulled a small book off of the shelf and laid it out on the table. There was a picture of a crystal. It looked exactly like Warden's necklace. "The book says that neckalce Warden has is magical. You aren't in love with her, you're under a spell. You need to snap out of it before it gets to strong." Pippin said, pointing to a paragraph of the book.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Pippin. It's not a spell. You're just jealous because you think Warden and I are closer than you and me."

"What are you talking about, Merry? I'm worried about you. You've been losing sleep, and you talk about her all the time! You've got to fight it, Merry!"

"Look, Pippin! If you're so jealous, then maybe we're not as good friends as I thought we were." Merry slammed the book shut, and left. Pippin sat at the table with his head in his hands.

****** ******

That night, Pippin came to the party. Merry was with Warden, and came over to Pippin. "Hey, I'm sorry about what I said to you today, Pippin. I hope we're still friends."

"Yeah, we're still friends." Pippin and Merry hugged. Warden pulled Merry away. "Um, Merry, can I talk to you? Alone?" Warden asked. Merry nodded and they walked to a nearby corner. Warden looked serious. "I don't want you and Pippin to see each other anymore. Okay?" She said. Merry's jaw dropped. "Pippin and I are best friends! You can't just pull us apart like that!" Merry said angrily.

"Merry," Warden grabbed the collar of his shirt playfully. "Who do you care about more, that low-life or me?" Merry started to answer, but then Warden pulled him towards her and kissed him. The blue liquid in her necklace glowed. When she finally pulled away, Merry forgot everything he had said before. His eyes glowed the same color as the liquid in Warden's necklace as he gazed into her eyes. She had an evil smile on her face. "Well? Who do you care about more?" she asked him again.

"Only you, Warden." Merry said in a voice that was not his own.

"Then you will never talk to him again." Warden said.

"Never." Merry said. His eyes stopped glowing, and the two walked to the dance floor, arms linked. They danced together. After the song ended, Pippin ran up to Merry with two large cups. They were filled with ale. "Want a drink?" Pippin asked, holding out one of the mugs to Merry. Merry looked at Warden, and then went under the power of the crystal. "Leave, Pippin. I'm not your friend anymore." Merry glared at Pippin. "What are you talking about?"

"Never talk to me again. Come on, Warden." Warden grabbed Merry's arm as they walked away from the party. Pippin was left in the middle of the dance floor, holding two mugs full of ale. He drank some ale from one of the mugs.

Merry walked Warden home. As he walked down the path on his way home, Pippin caught up with him on the road. "Merry, I told you. You're under some kind of spell. You've got to break free! She's doing it. She told you to say those things to me, didn't she?" Pippin looked at Merry. He kept walking, ignoring Pippin.

"I knew it. Merry, you have to listen to me, Merry! I'm trying to help you!"

"Pippin! I told you to leave me alone. I'm not under any spell, and I want you to go, not Warden. So leave!" He turned around and punched Pippin across the face. He ran home. Pippin got up slowly. He had to do something. Merry was going to hurt himself soon if he didn't break free of Warden's spell. He walked home to get some sleep.

****** ******

The next night, Merry woke up to someone knocking on his door. "Wha?" Merry said sleepily. "It's me, Merry. Come let me in." Suddenly wide-awake, Merry obediently got up and opened the door for Warden. She walked inside, and Merry shut the door and turned on a light. "I heard that you've been sleeping all day." Warden sat down at the table.

"Yeah, I don't know why. I'm so tired sometimes." Merry sat down on another chair.

"Well, you don't seem tired now. Which is good. I want you to come with me somewhere right now." Warden said. She got up and walked to the door.

"Come on, Merry." She walked out the door, and Merry followed. They walked into the woods, and ended up in a clearing. Warden grabbed Merry by the shoulders. "Merry, would you do anything for me?" Warden looked into his eyes. He looked back. "Anything for you, Warden." He said sympathetically.

"Would you die for me?" Warden said.

The liquid in the necklace glowed furiously inside the crystal. Merry snapped out of the spell for a moment. "

What? What are you talking about, Warden?" he said.

She looked at him with evil eyes. "Merry, you said you would do anything for me. Would you die for me?" She grabbed the crystal as she asked. He suddenly realized that he was under the spell, and began to fight it.

He could feel his head pulsing. "Let me go, Warden!" he pleaded. He fell to his knees, holding on to his head with both hands. "Stop it! Get out if my head!" it was hurting him. He fought, but the power of the crystal eventually out-matched his will power.

He stood up, stared forward, and his eyes began to glow again. "Anything. I would die for you, Warden."

He said with no expression. She smiled. From far behind her, a giant snake emerged from behind the trees. "Well, ssssince you asked. Just ssssit tight and I'll be right over." it said. Warden backed away, and the snake slowly slithered towards it's prey. Merry stood completely still, with a grim expression on his face. His eyes glowed like blue fire. Inside, his will fought the spell, but was losing.

When the snake reached Merry, it opened it's mouth and prepared to swallow him whole, but the snake stopped. It fell to the ground, dead. The crystal shattered, and Merry went unconscious. When he came to, he had blurred vision for a few minutes. He saw Pippin with a sword, and the dead snake. He stood up. Pippin saw him and rushed over to help him. Warden was laying on the ground. She slowly tried to stand. Pippin ran over to him and held his sword at her throat. "Don't even think of getting up." he said.

"It's okay, Pippin. She had no control over the necklace, either. It was controlling the both of us." he said, walking over and lowering Pippin's sword.

"Merry, I am so sorry." Warden said as she began to cry. Merry comforted her. "I found the necklace one day. When I put it on, I couldn't control myself anymore. It was controlling me. I've had it for years now. When I meet a boy, the necklace puts them under it's spell. Then I lure them to Mandis, that big snake, and then he…"she couldn't hold back her tears any longer. She hugged Merry, and Merry walked her home.

****** ******

Pippin and Merry walked to Pippin's house from Warden's. "I didn't get the chance to thank you for coming and saving me." Merry said.

"I heard you yelling, and I knew something was wrong. So I grabbed by sword, and ran towards the noise." Pippin said. "I'm just glad it's all over."

"Tell me about it. I hope Warden will be okay."

"She's just a bit shaken up. So, how about that drink I promised you?" Pippin said in his usual happy tone. Merry smiled, and they both headed to Pippin's house.

If you're wondering, Warden was okay after a good sleep. She moved out of Hobbiton a short time after, and fell in love with a hobbit she met outside the Shire. But that's another story.


End file.
